


The Light of a Dead Star

by mute90



Series: Light of a Dead Star [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M, Post-Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-04-12
Packaged: 2020-01-12 00:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18435161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mute90/pseuds/mute90
Summary: Padme was dead, but her final message still reached Anakin:"End his empire. End his tyranny. End him.”





	The Light of a Dead Star

“Anakin…”

She - her image, her voice - reached him through the densest fog and held him in place. ‘Listen,’ it demanded even as she was clearly sitting on a floor devoid of energy and color, legs folded beneath her and shoulders slumped. He could reach through that transparent form and end the playback.

Listen.

She swallowed. “Anakin… I love you.” Tears fell from her eyes and she wiped them away with a vicious swipe. “I shouldn't. I shouldn't love you after what you’ve done. To the Republic. To the Jedi.” Her hand drifted up and her fingers skittered across her neck. “To me.”

His fingers twitched, remembering that horrible moment that he - .

And then his hands curled into fists.

If she was talking about - then he didn't - he hadn't - she had still been -.

Lies!

Metal whined and crumpled around him. He paid it no mind anymore than he minded the ruined machinery the day he was told that he’d killed her. That lie had consumed what was left of his heart, had left him burning hotter than the fires of Mustafar because how could he? He'd loved her!

“But I can’t stop,” she insisted, loudly and suddenly.

His eyes snapped back to that image of a woman exhausted but alive. Furious and devastated but breathing.

“I love you and I can't - I won't - just stop,” she continued. She let out an unamused huff of laughter, speaking quickly now, “I suppose that’s always been our problem. We should have stopped from the very beginning. We should have stopped before we started. Instead, we were reckless. Foolish. Selfish.” She hissed the last word like it was a curse.

Love, he knew, was as bright and blinding as the twin suns of Tatooine and as merciless as the desert below.

“But it’s too late now,” she said.

Love slipped through fingers like sand, leaving just enough to cling and irritate.

“Anakin, I love you,” she repeated, and the simplicity and conviction of it struck him like a blunt weapon. He dropped to one knee before her image. “No matter how long it’s taken for you to receive this message - days or years or decades even - I know you still love me.”

Months. It had been months.

“You said it would destroy us. Do you remember? You always had a gift for prophecy. It's destroyed you and I feel like I don't have much time left.”

She hadn't. He didn't do it, but there was little time between Mustafar and her funeral procession.

“I'm not afraid to die,” she said, another echo of the past, “but I fear what I'll leave behind.”

She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. He found himself matching the rhythm, his breathing so loud that he could pretend he was taking in enough air for two. It hurt to change his breathing patterns, to override the rhythm he'd become accustomed to after Mustafar.

He didn't stop.

For how long it continued, he didn’t know. But, when she opened her eyes again, they were breathing in sync and wearing their implacable masks. His was monstrous and hers was elegant.

She wore the mask of a queen, posture gone rigid and her expression impassive. Her voice, when she spoke again, had drifted toward the monotone delivery of Queen Amidala. “You told me something else that day. You swore that you would do whatever I asked. Will you fulfill that oath even now?”

She paused, as if awaiting an answer.

Their love had been torn and burnt, half lost to the wind and the other half a smoking husk.

But, still, it lived.

Who was he to deny her? “Yes,” he rumbled.

She waited a few seconds longer and nodded once. “Here is what I ask: fix what's been broken. Stop Palpatine. We were the instruments of our own destruction but he was the musician. He brought an end to the republic. He brought an end to me.”

The Emperor lied. He made empty promises. He betrayed them both and it had ended in her death. Vader knew it and hated him for it. He planned to learn what he could and then take his revenge. He planned -.

She was silent again, waiting out his predictable reaction, and he bowed his head. That had been his plan. His will. His desire to snatch the Empire from Palpatine’s cold hands.

This was her will.

“Repay the favor,” she continued. “End his empire. End his tyranny. End him.”

With his eyes on the ground and her voice strong and firm in his ear, it was almost like she was there handing out her orders.

His queen.

Beneath the mask, Anakin Skywalker resurfaced with teeth bared, the path ahead lit with savage purpose.

“It will be done,” he swore.

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't get the idea out of my head. I don't when I'll add to the series, but for anyone interested:
> 
> \- Expect dark!Anakin at the start. He's not redeemed yet. He's just got different goals.   
> \- Expect Anakin to ditch the suit but still rely heavily on cybernetics.   
> \- Expect Anakin on the run more than undercover!Vader. He can't hide his shift for that long and he's not trying all that hard.   
> \- Expect regular Bail and Anakin interaction.   
> \- Expect TCW characters to be involved. 
> 
> \- Don't expect Anakin to be raising the twins.


End file.
